Coffee Beans
Unroasted, green coffee beans are “volatile” in coffee parlance, meaning they pick up aromas and flavors easily. Just a few weeks inside a used bourbon barrel will infuse the beans with notes of whiskey and oak that remain even after roasting. While Annapolis, Maryland-based Ceremony Coffee Roasters are generally credited with pioneering the process, many other roasters also barrel-age their beans, including Death Wish Coffee in Round Lake, New York; Oskar Blues-connected Hotbox Roasters in Longmont, Colorado; San Diego’s Modern Times Brewery, which uses the beans in special releases of its City of the Dead export stout; Whiskey Barrel Coffee in Commerce City, Colorado; and Dark Matter Coffee in Chicago.

Maple Syrup
Instead of shipping all of its used barrels to parts unknown, Woodinville Whiskey Co. in Woodinville, Washington, repurposes some as maple syrup aging vessels. Vanilla, caramel, coconut and woody spice can all be found in the dark amber maple syrup that eventually pours out; this is recycling at its finest.

Hot Sauce, Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, Sherry VinegarBLiS Gourmet (it stands for Because Life is Short) employs used barrels to season a veritable kitchen cabinet full of food products. The Michigan-based company’s fish sauce, soy sauce and sherry vinegar all spend time in bourbon casks that previously held BLiS maple syrup. Its Blast Hot Pepper Sauce ages in the same barrels its Grand Rapids neighbor, Founders Brewing Co., once used for its popular Canadian Breakfast Stout.

Cigars
Cigar makers approach barrel-aging from several angles. The Arturo Fuente Anejo smokes pictured, for instance, are wrapped in a Connecticut maduro leaf aged inside Cognac barrels. Other cigar producers choose to age the filler: Partagas’ 1845 Extra Oscuro is made with a blend of tobaccos aged in rum barrels. Cigar maker Asylum even tosses whole, finished cigars inside barrels that once held New Holland Brewing’s bourbon-aged stout, Dragon’s Milk.

In my ongoing quest to visit breweries all across this great land, I have now surpassed the 400 mark, and they’ve been spread across 37 states and 175+ cities. To celebrate this landmark, I’ve put together a ‘Special Edition’ of Brewery Travels: A rundown of my favorites in each of the states visited so far.

I’ve worked in craft beer for nearly five years now. I’ve had the fortune to try some truly amazing brews: Pliny the Elder, Heady Topper, Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout. Supplication? I’ve got one in my mini-fridge. The reason I’m telling you this is because I want to frame my statements here properly. I’ve had good beer, trust me. The best beer I’ve ever had, though, was a Miller Lite.